By RUPERT MISSICK Jr

UNDOCUMENTED migrants remained vulnerable to forced labour and exploitation in the Bahamas, especially in the domestic and agriculture sectors, a newly released 2012 human rights report from the US Embassy alleges.

While the US report acknowledged that Bahamian law prohibits all forms of forced or compulsory labour, it alleged that the government does not consistently enforce the law in all cases.

“The Ministry of Labour and Social Development reported that no cases of forced labour were reported during the year. Local NGOs noted that exploited workers often did not report their circumstances to government officials for fear of deportation and lack of education about available resources,” the report said.

Members of the Haitian community complained of discrimination in the job market, specifically that identity and work-permit documents were controlled by employers seeking leverage over them by using threats of deportation.

“There were reports that non-citizen labourers, most often of Haitian origin, were vulnerable to forced labour and suffered abuses at the hands of their employers, who were responsible for endorsing their work permits on an annual basis. Specifically, local sources indicated that employers reportedly obtained $1,000 work permits for non-citizen employees and then required them to “work off” the permit fee over the course of their employment or otherwise risk losing the permit and their ability to work legally within the country,” the report said.

The Haitian community was characterized as having high levels of poverty, high unemployment, poor health conditions and generally having difficulty in securing citizenship, residence, or work permits.

The report also sited a September 6, 2012, incident where members of the Haitian community in Andros surrounded a local clinic where they accused an immigration officer of killing a man of Haitian descent.

Community members reported that the officer chased the man, sprayed an unidentified chemical in his face, and then fled the scene. The man was later pronounced dead at the local clinic.

The police superintendent confirmed that an incident took place but stated that the man died of natural causes.